Fears
by xXHeart of GoldXx
Summary: Raven knows everyone's fear, but Starfire's remains a mystery. So one day, Raven asks her what her real fear is on the rooftop of Titan's Tower.


Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans.

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><p>Raven never really had any common fears. Really, she never did. She had never been afraid of the dark, not even clowns with those evil smiles and big red noses. She had never feared the whole monster in the closet business when she was little, and she had never needed a comfort blanket such as the one Beast Boy still secretly slept with at night. Raven was one of those people that were never afraid of anything, and it would take a lot to scare her.<p>

She'd take that back- she had a common fear once, back when they watched that movie called something like _Wicked Scary_ Beast Boy had picked up at the video store after defeating Control Freak. She had been afraid of that movie, and it had scared her so terribly, her powers had created those monsters and she would admit; it was embarrassing for she was supposed to be the girl with no known fears. But she had been able to back it up, saying the movie had been a psychological thriller and it was supposed to mess with one's mind. She claimed it was an effective movie, doing what it was supposed to do. That movie had no effect on her anymore, though, so she didn't consider it a fear; it was more like she was scared for the moment afterwards. She would know because she had watched it again, and it didn't have any effect on her the second time.

Other than that, she didn't really have any fears other than the one of her father, which was a completely understandable fear. Even Beast Boy couldn't find a joke in having a demon as a father. But that was all over, and Raven had no fear of him anymore simply because she knew she could defeat him.

So, Raven really had no fears, but she knew everyone else's fears in the tower. Robin's were understandable, but he was pretty fearless himself, maybe even more than Raven. She had to give him credit for doing what he did without super powers to protect him. His fear was Slade, quite simple as that. But Robin was brave and faced his deepest, darkest, fear so she had respect for him.

Cyborg was brave himself. He was mostly afraid of not being accepted by society, which was understandable. Raven knew it must be hard to be half robot and half human. This effected with people's ethics, morals, and understandings of what people can do when one dies. The team had even sent letters, saying how Cyborg wasn't really the person he had been, but programmed to think he was. Raven saw some logic in that, but whoever he was, he was Cyborg and she didn't know him any other way. He even faced society every day by going to the movies, parks, and occasional outings for pizza.

Beast Boy had some childish fears. He had told her once he feared that they'd all die on a mission once. This was an all right fear though, because the five of them could die any day, really. Raven accepted this fear as logical. But the one she didn't was Beast Boy's occasional fear of the dark and thunderstorms. She would use the word occasional because some nights he'd sit in the dark watching their ridiculously large television. Other nights, he'd be terrified, although that was when he wasn't watching television or playing video games. Beast Boy hated thunderstorms. If they were really bad, he'd turn into a kitten and hide under the bed. But the mild thunderstorm, he would just complain about it. His fears were somewhat rational, but childish. Raven was okay with this because she knew everyone had a fear of something.

Raven was the queen at detecting fears and using them against people. But Raven could not pinpoint Starfire's true fear. She did get scared a lot, and she sure could scream when she did. Raven knew Starfire was afraid of things such as the occasional large spider, or even Beast Boy's athlete's foot when he had it. She was afraid for her friend's lives when they were on dangerous missions, but she was only afraid. If it was a true fear, she probably would have talked about it like Beast Boy had. Starfire was a very open person and told people what was bothering her, if she felt sick, basically everything.

This bothered Raven because she liked to know what people were afraid of. She liked knowing this fact about people simply because it told a lot about them and how brave they truly were. Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were all brave because they faced their fears all of the time. Raven considered herself brave because she had faced her father.

But Starfire didn't face any type of fear. She faced danger, numerous villains, and risked her life daily, but she never actually stated a fear, or even thinks about it. Raven had tried to read her mind, but her thoughts were generally in Tameranean, rarely in English or any other languages Raven knew. So, it was impossible to read her thoughts.

So one day when Starfire had gone up to the rooftop- Raven had no idea why she went up there so often- she decided to follow her up there and be straight forward about it. Starfire was predictable; she would answer that question, no doubt about it.

Raven transported herself to the rooftop. She saw Starfire just sitting there on the edge of the tower with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her auburn hair blew perfectly together in the wind, something that would be seen in those sappy movies Raven disliked. She was looking up at the sky. Was she watching the clouds go by? Raven couldn't figure it out. She took a seat next to her. "Hey Starfire," Raven finally said in her monotonous voice when the other teen didn't notice her friend's presence. She jumped at Raven's voice, obviously startled. She was never really too aware of her surroundings.

"Oh, hello, Raven. I did not see you there," Starfire smiled at her, then turned to look back at the sky. Raven wondered how she could be so happy all of the time. Well, she did get emotional sometimes, but she was usually very happy and it was kind of painful to watch. Something must be scaring her; maybe it was her real fear. "My apologies," she said.

"That's okay. I tend to be silent when I go about things," Raven said calmly and looked up at the sky to see what Starfire was looking at. She had to look away, though, because her violet eyes started to tear up from the bright sun. There hadn't even been a cloud in the sky, making Raven wonder what Starfire was looking at.

"Yes, Raven, you are very quiet," she agreed, turning her attention to Raven. There was something about Starfire that wasn't authentic. It would probably have to be her happiness that shined up the room every time she walked into one, making other girls envy her for her good looks and great personality. "Is there something you needed of me?" she asked in that proper English and airy voice.

"I need to ask you a question," Raven said. "What do you fear?"

"Many things," Starfire started. "I fear those insects that have the eight legs," Raven wouldn't correct her this time; she'd just let her state what she wanted to say. "I am afraid that you and our friends may not return from one of our missions, frightening movies, and those types of things," she finished.

"Those aren't really fears, Starfire," Raven commented. "Those are more of things that make you uncomfortable. What I'm trying to say is, do spiders affect your everyday life?"

"Fear is how friend Beast boy must write in his journal every day that we all survived?" she paused. "No, not like that, Raven. I understand what you imply."

"You do?" Raven was relieved. All traces of happiness seemed to have melted off of Starfire's face.

"I fear that they will come back and take me away," she whispered. Her green eyes that usually either held confusion or happiness turned serious. Raven was startled by this because Starfire's eyes held so much life, but at that moment, they seemed to be dead just staring off into the distance behind Raven.

"Who'll take you away?" Raven asked her. She wasn't trying to force her to answer though, because that would be an invasion of the alien's privacy. Raven decided she wouldn't press for an answer, but she'd be willing to listen to her friend.

"It is a long story," Starfire sighed. "However, if you are willing to listen to the part I will tell, I will proceed."

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," Raven assured Starfire. "I understand if you don't want to tell me." Raven could tell that Starfire was nervous in about telling her by her body language. Suddenly, she let her legs dangle off of the side of Titan's tower and she let her arms down and leaned against them, supporting her. She looked back up at the clear blue sky again, then back at Raven. She didn't smile like she usually did. Instead, she kept this blank look on her face.

"I do not mind speaking about it," she reassured Raven. She was silent for a moment, making Raven think she was about to cry. But Starfire, an alien who relied more on emotions than any kind of reasoning, didn't shed a tear. When Raven took a closer look, it seemed as if Starfire was thinking about how to put her words together. "When I was on my planet, a war had broken out. To bring peace to my planet and from it being destroyed, I was enslaved by the Citadel. I legally belong to them; I fear that if the Gordainians come back to deliver me to the Citadel, there would be nothing you or our friends could do about it. Even intergalactically, nothing can be done to prevent this," she spoke in a whisper, as if she thought they'd overhear her.

"We stopped them once when you came to Earth, remember? We could do it again," Raven tried to be optimistic, something she wasn't necessarily good at and failed many times. She didn't force a smile, though, because that would have just been too much. This fear, though, was actually a credible one, not really like Beast Boy's childish ones.

"I believe that they will return one day with the treaty that had been signed from the Citadel. With the documentation, you and our friends will not be able to fight them off without getting the planet Earth involved with other planets from the other solar systems, maybe even galaxies, but I do not know if that is the proper term," Starfire still spoke in a whisper, her voice seemed to be steady, though, no sign of any type of emotion.

"Your fear is that you'll be enslaved again?" Raven questioned, following Starfire's explanation. Oddly, Starfire shook her head slowly.

"No, that is not a fear anymore. I have come to terms with it, somewhat like you have come to terms with your father," her voice wasn't a whisper anymore, but she still spoke softly. Her voice was peaceful, though, no hint of confrontations or harshness. Raven always wondered how Starfire's voice was so perfect and flawless, so that when she spoke, it was comforting to hear even when she spoke about something as terrible as being enslaved. "My fear is something far greater." Raven wondered what her fear could possibly, something that made her tremble when she thought about it, something that effected her life.

"What is your fear?" For some reason, Raven was afraid to hear what it was. She wondered what could be worse than being enslaved by a powerful alien race for the rest of her life.

"My fear is you, friend Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy will try to stop them if they come back," Starfire's green eyes looked into Raven's deeply. "And I do not know when they will return for me. It could be today, or in an Earth year, or maybe ten Earth years. But I do know they will come back someday." Raven had never noticed how bright her eyes were and how big they were, but at the moment, they lacked the spark that made her Starfire. It was somewhat frightening. Raven would have rather gone to the mall with her than talk about something serious like this. She had always wanted to have an intelligent, darker conversation with Starfire, but when Starfire got serious and talked about something dark and personal, she didn't seem like herself, but a shell of who she was.

Both girls turned towards the sky, but this time, they focused on the water. Raven watched it as it hit the shore, then watched it being pulled back again. "Raven?" She jumped when she heard her name spoken at Starfire's normal tone.

"Hmm?" she muttered.

"You may not agree to this, however, would you let me do your hair and perform the painting of the toe nails and fingernails?" Raven wondered how she could switch topics so quickly. She seemed too innocent now, but Starfire didn't really seem to hold that innocence Raven once saw in her. Maybe she wasn't as naïve as she made herself out to be. Of course she'd be naïve on a planet twenty six light years away, but no one seemed to account that into things. Raven hadn't until today.

Even though Raven hated nail polish and styling hair, she found herself nodding and saying, "Okay." Raven was telepathic and could occasionally see things in the future if she focused hard enough, but she couldn't predict the last day Starfire would have on Earth. For all she knew, this could be her last.

"Glorious!"


End file.
